States obesity rank rises to 32nd

About 26.4 percent of Washington residents are seriously overweight.

National attention has long been focused on the problem of childhood obesity.Yet adults can't shrug their shoulders and say: "Not my problem."Washington ranks as the 28th most obese state in the country, with 26.4 percent of adults seriously overweight, according to a study by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.Fifteen years ago, Washington had an obesity rate of 13.9 percent and was ranked the 32nd most obese state in the nation. The obesity rate in Washington increased 90 percent over the last 15 years, according to the study.Instances of diabetes and high blood pressure rates have gone up as well.Some 7.4 percent of Washington adults have diabetes, up from 4 percent in 1995, and nearly 26 percent of adults have high blood pressure.The top 10 states with the highest obesity rates are: Mississippi with 34.4 percent of adults obese; Alabama, 32.3 percent; West Virginia, 32.2 percent; Tennessee, 31.9 percent; Louisiana, 31.6 percent; Kentucky, 31.5 percent; Oklahoma, 31.4 percent; South Carolina, 30.9 percent; Arkansas, 30.6 percent; and Michigan, 30.5.

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